Problem With Lead Weight Plugs in Back of MacGregor Eye O Matic Woods

[Buckeye Stoneman]

I have a set of Eye-O-Matic-60 woods that I dug out of storage with the intent to list for sale. Black finish, silver metal circle sweet spot surrounded by 4 phillips head screws in a red insert - you old timers know the ones. However, I find that the circular, gray, lead weight plugs are now protruding from the rear surface of the persimmon head by about 1/16 th of an inch. This suggests to me that the persimmon has maybe shrunk while being stored and unused for many years. Anyone have information for me on why this happened and how it could be corrected? I tried to carefully tap the weight plug back into the head but no luck. The soft lead weight plug just starts to mushroom out instead of slipping back into the wood. 

[ChetlovesMer]

2 hours ago, Buckeye Stoneman said:

I have a set of Eye-O-Matic-60 woods that I dug out of storage with the intent to list for sale. Black finish, silver metal circle sweet spot surrounded by 4 phillips head screws in a red insert - you old timers know the ones. However, I find that the circular, gray, lead weight plugs are now protruding from the rear surface of the persimmon head by about 1/16 th of an inch. This suggests to me that the persimmon has maybe shrunk while being stored and unused for many years. Anyone have information for me on why this happened and how it could be corrected? I tried to carefully tap the weight plug back into the head but no luck. The soft lead weight plug just starts to mushroom out instead of slipping back into the wood. 

You should post some photos. I remember the Eye-O-Matics and it seems like the lead was always sticking out of them. It would stick out to different degrees of course, but how much are yours "sticking out"? 

[Buckeye Stoneman]

The driver and 3 wood are sticking out a good 1/16th of an inch - enough to feel bothersome when you're used to the nice, smooth surface of a persimmon head. The 4 and 5 wood are not protruding and that leads me to believe that maybe the condition is due to more usage and more force of impact. Have done a little homework and discovered that these clubs are 1960 manuf. and the center sweet spot is an aluminum screw plug in the center of the face. Maybe they weighted the back of the head to make up some extra weight center-club due to the use of the lighter aluminum in the sweet spot? Will try to figure out how to post pictures and get them on this site.

[Buckeye Stoneman]

In the left picture you can just see the lead plug sticking outside the wood surface at the lower right side of the image.

[iacas]

Wood dries out and shrinks a bit, right? And maybe when it swells a bit it could also slowly "work" such a plug out over a bunch of "moisture cycles."

[Buckeye Stoneman]

Thanks for your comment. Entirely possible that you are correct. So, it may be a result of a change in the wood and not a change in the lead, I'm sure if this club was refinished they would just shave off the excess lead to once again be flush with the wood. Don't want to go to the cost of refinishing. Maybe Ralph Maltby is on this site and can offer a clubmaker's perspective. 

[iacas]

37 minutes ago, Buckeye Stoneman said:

Maybe Ralph Maltby is on this site and can offer a clubmaker's perspective. 

He is not.